Marines make history as first women to join the infantry

The unnamed Marines will serve as rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine

Sarah Hauck

During boot camp recruits are told that once they leave as Marines, they become part of a legacy.

Three of them are going even further, creating a new Marine Corps legacy when they report today to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, as the first female infantry Marines.

The Marines were given titles of rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine, Division Representative, II MEF Public Affairs Officer 1st Lt John McCombs said. McCombs declined to release the names of the three women, who recently graduated from School of Infantry East.

Female leadership — a logistics officer, a motor transport officer and a wire chief, also unnamed — was placed with the battalion prior to the Marines’ arrivals to assist with transition, McCombs said.

In December 2015 U.S. military announced all combat jobs across all branches would be open to women starting in 2016.

According to the Marine Corps website, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter approved the Marine Corps’ Force Integration Implementation Plan, March 10, 2016, which opened all jobs within the Marine Corps to anyone. Subsequent research ensured standards of operations and trainings were gender neutral and operationally relevant, according to USMC information.

“Regardless of any demographic qualifier, any person who is qualified has the opportunity to volunteer to serve in any occupational specialty or unit,” U.S. Marine Corps Communication Capt. Philip Kulczewski said. “Standards and codified physical requirements are in place ensuring that we will be able to field the best personnel for America’s crisis response force.”

The Marines, along with other branches of the military, have seen an uptick in the number of women requesting jobs they previously were not eligible for in the last year.

“As we continue to move forward, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that the men and women who earn the title ‘Marine’ will be ready, and will provide America with an elite crisis response force that is ready to fight and win,” McCombs said.